I had a speaking engagement at a conference in St Pete and came up with the idea to extend the trip into a vacation. I found the Inspiration, recently refreshed, and ready for a 5 day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. My last cruise was in 1990 on the Carnivale, and my wife had never been on a cruise. This was our first together and I wanted to make it as special as possible.

To reach that "special" level I booked a Cat12 penthouse suite and selected U83 as the room. No special reason, but it looked like it was midway through the suites and convenient. Prior to sailing I ordered gifts for my wife--flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, two bottles of wine, a fruit basket and drink coupons. Yes, I went overboard but remember I wanted it to be special. Besides, she shared the drink coupons with me!

Embarkation--Tampa is an easy port to get in/out. The people are pleasant and I wanted no hassles and opted for valet parking. The VIP area was a set of desks away from the general boarding line and they had us checked in quickly. From there we were directed to a waiting area that was really part of the general waiting area. Only advantage is they called for VIPs first. We did the photo, on the ship, and a quick trip to the room (not quite ready) to drop off our stuff. We were onboard by 11:30am and first stop was the Lido deck for lunch. Oh, our steward (Ronald) was surprised to see us early but we comforted him that we knew the room would not be ready until 1:30 and just wanted to drop off our carry ons. No problem, he was as accommodating through the rest of the trip too. Read more